Halfmoon
by Mika Casey
Summary: A bloodthirsty leader has risen to power. Will the rest of the Clans be thrown into turmoil? - AirClan, EarthClan, WaterClan, FireClan.
1. The Clans, Introduction

Blah, blah, blah. Warriors aren't mine. You know the drill.

* * *

_**AirClan**_

**Territory - Sparse forest, tall trees, dens in trunks  
Prey - Mostly birds  
Skills - Jumping, being agile and generally smaller than other cats  
Other - Bird feathers behind ears**

Leader:

**Nightstar** - slender black tomcat with bright green eyes (raven's feather)

Deputy:

**Halfmoon** - pretty white and silver she-cat with amber eyes (eagle's feather)

Medicine Cat:

**Cloudfoot** - heavyset white tom with blue eyes (dove's feather)

Warriors and Apprentices:

**Ashstorm** - very dark gray tom with dark blue eyes (eagle's feather)  
**Dovepaw** - fluffy white she-cat with amber eyes

**Morningsong** - ginger she-cat with amber eyes (eagle's feather)

**Antleg** - dark brown tom with amber eyes (eagle's feather)  
**Turtlepaw** - mottled brown and white she-cat with green eyes

**Owlfang** - brown tomcat with white belly and amber eyes (eagle's feather)

**Whiteclaw** - large white tomcat with blue eyes (eagle's feather)

Queens and Kits:

**Berryleaf** - pretty gray she-cat with blue eyes (thrush's feather)  
(mother of Owlfang's kits)  
**Birdkit** - fluffy cream she-cat with amber eyes  
**Lizardkit** - tan she-cat with blue eyes

Elders:

**Rockheart** - gray tom with green eyes

**Pinetooth** - fluffy brown tom with amber eyes

* * *

_**EarthClan**_

**Territory - Moors, dens in abandoned rabit nests  
Prey - Mostly rodents  
Skills - Stalking silently  
Other - Mud-hunting practices**

Leader:

**Robinstar** - small brown she-cat with amber eyes

Deputy:

**Windface** - white tomcat with amber eyes

Medicine Cat:

**Dapplewing** - fluffy tortiseshell she-cat with blue eyes

Warriors and Apprentices:

**Fernblaze** - ginger and tan she-cat with blue eyes  
**Risingpaw** - pretty gray she-cat with amber eyes

**Rosepetal** - white she-cat with green eyes

**Briarnose** - large very dark brown tom with blue eyes  
**Lightningpaw** - cream she-cat with light blue eyes

**Beeclaw **- black tom with white flecks and amber eyes  
**Darkpaw** - dark gray tom with green eyes

**Scorchpelt** - small black tom with amber eyes

**Blackear** - tan tom with one black ear and green eyes

Queens and Kits:

**Copperheart** - pretty golden she-cat with blue eyes  
(mother of Windface's kits)  
**Brokenkit** - brown tom with a twisted paw and amber eyes  
**Shadowkit** - black tom with blue eyes  
**Fawnkit** - pale ginger she-cat with blue eyes  
**Milkkit** - cream tom with gray eyes

**Whispertail** - fluffy pale gray she-cat with amber eyes  
(mother of Briarnose's kits)  
**Spiderkit** - black tom with amber eyes  
**Beetlekit** - dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes

**Twilightfur** - mottled gray she-cat with amber eyes  
(pregnant with Blackear's kits)

Elders:

**Frostpool** - beautiful small white she-cat with bright blue eyes

**Brackenstep** - mottled pale brown tom with amber eyes

**Ashwhisker** - gray tom with long whiskers

* * *

_**WaterClan**_

**Territory - Shore of deep river  
Prey - Mostly fish  
Skills - Swimming, thicker coats  
Other - Are most peaceful**

Leader:

**Stonestar** - sleek gray tom with green eyes

Deputy:

**Risingsun** - dark brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes  
**Salmonpaw** - very pale ginger tom with green eyes

Medicine Cat:

**Grayflower** - mottled gray she-cat with green eyes  
**Finchpaw** - pale ginger she-cat with blue eyes

Warriors and Apprentices:

**Icestripe** - white tom with bright blue eyes

**Splashtail** - silver tom with dark blue eyes

**Otterfoot** - sleek dark brown tom with amber eyes  
**Mintpaw** - pale gray she-cat with green eyes

**Volebelly** - dusty-colored tom with amber eyes

Queens and Kits:

**Hailstorm** - mottled gray she-cat with amber eyes  
(mother of Icestripe's kits)  
**Thistlekit** - fluffy brown tom with amber eyes  
**Spottedkit** - gray she-cat with white spots and blue eyes  
**Lichenkit** - dark brown she-cat with green eyes

**Littlebird** - small ginger she-cat with blue eyes  
(mother of Stonestar's kits)  
**Rushingkit** - very dark gray she-cat with blue eyes

Elders:

**Patchfur** - black and white tom with amber eyes

**Snowstream** - pretty white she-cat with bright blue eyes

* * *

_**FireClan**_

**Territory - Dense forest  
Prey - Mostly rodents and a few birds  
Skills - Fighting  
Other - Have the most advanced fighting techniques**

Leader:

**Poppystar** - very dark ginger she-cat with green eyes

Deputy:

**Dawnfall** - tan she-cat with amber eyes

Medicine Cat:

**Weedwhisker** - small gray tom with green eyes

Warriors and Apprentices:

**Howlsong** - brown tabby tom with blue eyes  
**Goosepaw** - very pale gray tom with amber eyes

**Larkflight** - silver she-cat with gray eyes  
**Tigerpaw** - dark ginger she-cat with blue eyes

**Treeclaw** - mottled brown tom with green eyes

**Leafheart** - ginger and white she-cat with green eyes

**Fallingwind** - black tom with amber eyes

**Leopardspots** - pretty gold she-cat with black spots and amber eyes  
**Orangepaw** - dark ginger she-cat with green eyes

Queens and Kits:

**Tansycloud** - tortiseshell she-cat with amber eyes  
(mother of Howlsong's kits)  
**Sparrowkit** - tan tom with blue eyes  
**Hawkkit** - dark brown tom with amber eyes

**Goldentail** - beautiful gold she-cat with blue eyes  
(mother of Treeclaw's kits)  
**Pinekit** - brown tom with gold flecks and green eyes

Elders:

**Sunbeam** - gold tom with amber eyes

**Pounceclaw** - white tom with black belly and blue eyes

**Brindleflame** - tortiseshell she-cat with amber eyes


	2. Chapter 1: Forbidden

A slender she-cat sat with her fur bristling at the base of the Moonrocks, eyes wide and scanning everything around her that was bathed in silvery night lights. She hesitantly brought a silver and white paw to her mouth and rasped her tongue over it in an attempt to calm herself down.

Everything she was doing here was wrong. She was waiting outside of another Clan's territory _waiting_ for a cat that wasn't even part of her Clan. She shivered at the cold wind that ran over her fur and also her heart. Bowing her head, she realized that she didn't have the willpower _not_ to see this cat because she was in love with him.

_If only he were born an AirClan cat._ She thought to herself, knowing that he felt the same about her.

If they were in the same Clan, they could be together without shame. They could have kits and live happily ever after. The she-cat always envied the one queen in her own Clan, who had two little kits of her own, and knew that she would never have that reality. And being Clan deputy didn't help her case.

"Halfmoon?" A voice filled her ears, making her snap her face up to search the darkness for the speaker of the voice that she came to adore so much.

All her round amber eyes could see were his yellow-colored eyes. His fur was pitch black, making him hard to see in the night. He stepped towards her, wrapping himself around her like a shadow being cast on her figure. She let a purr rumble in her chest. She would never let her insecurities about seeing him ruin the short amount of time they spent together. This was their secret, and it had to be safe to continue because she couldn't live without him being a constant part of her life.

"Good evening, Fallingwind." She mewed softly, feeling dizzy like a kit walking for the first time. His scent was taking over her awareness, strong and musky like all the other FireClan cats.

He paused to run his tongue over one of her silver ears, but did not hesitate when he meowed. "We need to talk."

She watched him as he paced to sit down in front of her, and realized that half of him was covered in blood. "What happened?" She wanted to know, worried for his safety.

"I've been kicked out of the Clan." He meowed softly. "Poppystar is planning an attack on your Clan, and I tried to convince her not to go. She accused me of being disloyal, and ordered Howlsong to get rid of me. He would have killed me, but I escaped and ran to hide. I've been hiding out since sunhigh."

Immediately, Halfmoon pressed her silver and white flank against his. "Come with me. We'll tell Nightstar what has happened, and..."

"Will Nightstar understand? And what about you? Are you willing to lie to your leader about how you found this out?" He asked her, eyes clouded with worry and fear.

She blinked. "Nightstar is an understanding cat. I will not lie to him. I will explain." But as she said this, her heart was sinking. "Come on." She let this mew out like a soft gust of wind. "I'm sure you're hungry, and our medicine cat can take care of you. And now, we need to plan to defend an attack." She meowed darkly.

Twining his tail in hers, the tomcat said nothing as they walked deeper into AirClan territory towards Halfmoon's camp.

* * *

When Halfmoon and Fallingwind walked into the AirClan camp, most of the other cats were already asleep. The only cats that were still up and in the clearing were thankfully Halfmoon's brothers, Cloudfoot and Whiteclaw. The two white tomcats stared incredulously, and the larger one rushed to his sister's side.

"Why do you have a FireClan cat here?" He scurried around them, examining the black tomcat. He was Cloudfoot, the AirClan medicine cat. When he saw the blood that drenched most of Fallingwind's fur, his eyes widened with a little more understanding. "Come with me." He lead the black tom to a tree a few tail-lengths away, and urged him to enter a hole under the knot of the roots. "This is my den." He told the FireClan cat. "I can take care of you in here."

When Cloudfoot and Fallingwind were out of sight, Whiteclaw came to Halfmoon's side. "What happened?"

"F-Fallingwind has been kicked out of his Clan. They're planning an attack on us, and he tried to stop them..." She mewed shakily.

Whiteclaw was always the logical one. "Why would he try to stop his Clan from attacking an enemy, even if unprovoked? And how did you find him?"

She bowed her head. "Its because of me. Fallingwind and I..." She couldn't even finish what she was saying, but she didn't want to lie to her own kin. She wanted him to understand.

"This is not like you, Halfmoon." Whiteclaw commented, knowing what she was going to say. "You've always been a loyal cat." He told her. Just as she was about to open her mouth to defend herself, he mewed. "I'm not saying you're wrong in loving him. I don't know what I would do if Morningsong were part of another Clan; I don't know how I would stop myself from seeing her." He was speaking of his mate, a ginger AirClan she-cat. "Your mate just happens to be from another Clan."

Halfmoon had never thought of Fallingwind as her _mate_, because she believed that true mates were from the same Clan. But now that he was no longer an official FireClan cat...

She shook herself, having to get that idea immediately out of her head. First, she had to tell Nightstar. Her leader would decide if Fallingwind could stay. And even then, she was _deputy_, for StarClan's sake. She couldn't think about having a mate and possibly _kits_ when she was in such a position in the Clan.

_Its not fair._ She thought to herself. _Tomcats can father kits when they're leader, but the queen has to carry them and can't handle leadership responsibilities._

Whiteclaw pressed his nose against hers. "I know things seem scary right now. I'll come with you to see Nightstar, if you want me to."

Halfmoon nodded, throat sore. Nervously, she unsheathed and then resheathed her claws before padding in the direction of the tallest tree in the AirClan camp. Whiteclaw followed silently.

When the two got to the base of the tree, Halfmoon leapt up onto the lowest branch, which was three or four tail-lengths off the ground. There was a small hole in the tree at this level, and she peered inside to see a small black tomcat sleeping in a mossy nest. Whiteclaw waited below, listening as Halfmoon mewed to wake up Nightstar.

Her meow roused the Clan leader, who sat up and blinked sleepily. When he saw his deputy, he was immediately concerned. "Is something wrong, Halfmoon?"

She hesitated, her mouth dry like she had just swallowed a tough piece of prey. When she spoke, her voice was hoarse. "Fallingwind of FireClan is in Cloudfoot's den. He's been kicked out of his Clan by Poppystar, and she's planning to attack us."

Nightstar watched her, tilting his head slightly. "How did he find our camp?"

"I lead him here. I found him out by the Moonrock. He was bleeding badly, and couldn't just leave him there to die."

Nodding, Nightstar meowed. "You _found_ him? What were you doing at Moonrock at this hour?"

She mewed quietly like a kit being scolded. "I met him there."

"Ah." Nightstar said. He didn't seem suprised. "He can stay the night. I'll speak with him tomorrow about permanent arrangements. And I need you to arrange preparations for Poppystar's attack. Get the information from Fallingwind in the morning."

Halfmoon dipped her head. "Thank you, Nightstar." As soon as she turned, Nightstar spoke.

"I knew you were seeing him, Halfmoon."

She froze.

Nightstar was purring, which confused Halfmoon. "I loved a cat I wasn't supposed to once. Her name was Rosie, and she was a kittypet. Her twolegs took her away a few moons after I realized my feelings for you, and I've been missing her ever since. You can't help who you love. But if I were you, I wouldn't tell the Clan about you and Fallingwind. If he stays, make them think this happened while he was here. They won't see you as being disloyal."

Turning to look over her shoulder at her leader with new eyes, she meowed thankfully. "Of course, Nightstar." And with that, she leapt of the branch.

She was exhausted by now, and would give anything for a wink of sleep. But she had to find out how Fallingwind was first.

Whiteclaw was no longer on the ground beneath the tree, but was across the camp talking to Cloudfoot. When her brothers saw her hit the ground, Cloudfoot rushed to her side. "Fallingwind is sleeping. I gave him poppy seeds. He said he wanted you to see him, but I don't see the point if he's already sleeping..."

Halfmoon was already running to the medicine cat den and diving in between the two roots that were the enterance. The hollow underneath the tree was suprisingly large, and smelled strongly of herbs and her brother. There were three nests, two empty and the third occupied by a black cat. His pelt was sleek like he or Cloudfoot had washed away the blood, and there were cobwebs pressed on his flank, which seemed to be the source of the most blood.

There was just enough space in the nest for her, which she was sure he had made room for, and she stepped gently into the nest. She curled up next to him, her body considerably smaller than his because AirClan cats were inheritantly littler than the other Clan cats. She purred gently, pressing her nose against his cheek before resting her chin on a paw that was sticking out from beneath his belly.

His scent overwhelmed her deliciously as she drifted into sleep.


	3. Chapter 2: Wake

Halfmoon woke the next morning to Cloudfoot's forepaw being poked into her muzzle.

"Halfmoon. Halfmoon!" He hissed quietly in her ear. She growled, and opened her eyes to find that she was in the medicine cat's den. The memories of what had happened the night before rushed back like the river. Fallingwind was still there, curled up fast asleep behind her. When Halfmoon looked out the roots of the tree, she saw that the sun wasn't even up yet.

Rolling her eyes up to look at her brother, she waited expectantly for his question. He probably wanted to know why she had slept in Fallingwind's nest, and _what_ she thought she was doing by staying that close to a FireClan cat.

Cloudfoot said nothing. "Its sunhigh. You need to organize a hunting patrol, and then oversee the apprentice training sessions. Whiteclaw took out dawn patrol this morning."

Guilt panged through Halfmoon. While she was sleeping, her brother had to take over her duties.

"I told the Clan that you were guarding our prisoner." Her brother mewed softly. "I know you're tired, but you have to throw yourself back into Clan life."

Nodding, Halfmoon climbed out of Fallingwind's nest. "Of course. Were Antleg and Turtlepaw on the patrol this morning?"

Cloudfoot shook his head. "I saw them by the nursery, playing with Berryleaf's kits."

Halfmoon gave herself a quick wash to get the FireClan scent off herself. "Okay, I'll take them. Thank you, Cloudfoot." She meowed to her brother, purring. Suddenly things didn't seem as bad as they did the previous night. When she finished, she quickly flicked her brother's ear with her tail and rushed out of the den.

The sun hit her with a wave of warmth. There would be a lot of prey out on a beautiful day like this. She saw Berryleaf and her mate, Owlfang, sharing tongues across the clearing, while their two kits were play-fighting by the fresh-kill pile. When the fluffy cream-colored kit spotted Halfmoon coming out of Cloudfoot's den, she released her sister's tail from her jaws and rushed over to the deputy.

"Is it true? Is there really a _FireClan_ cat in there?" She asked, peering around Halfmoon fearfully as if Fallingwind were going to rush out of the den and attack her. Her round amber eyes were glittering with curiosity.

Halfmoon nodded. "Yes, Birdkit. But he's injured, so he can't hurt you. And a noble cat doesn't harm kits."

Birdkit's sister scurried to the cream kit's side. Her tan fur was sticking up with fury, and she pretended to spit. "Did you turn him into crow-food, Halfmoon? I bet you beat him _bad_!" She squeaked.

"No, Lizardkit, I didn't hurt him. He wanted a safe place to stay, and we AirClan warriors are noble enough not to let another cat die, even if they're from another Clan." Halfmoon informed the little tan kit.

Lizardkit, confused, mewed again. "Is hestaying?"

"Most likely. Poppystar says he can't go back to his Clan."

Birdkit shivered. "I hope Nightstar doesn't do that to me!" She mewed fearfully.

Halfmoon purred in amusement. "Nightstar wouldn't do that. Unless you keep asking questions and sticking your muzzle in places it shouldn't be!"

Spooked, the two kits immediately ran over to their mother and father, and peeked at Halfmoon from behind their pelts.

Purring in amusement, Halfmoon looked around the clearing. She saw Turtlepaw sitting over by the nursery, washing herself. Halfmoon called to her, and the mottled brown and white apprentice turned to look at her with striking bright green eyes. After flicking something from her paw, the young she-cat bounded up to the deputy.

"Where's your mentor?" Halfmoon asked.

Turtlepaw responded. "I have no idea. I've been training with Ashstorm and Dovepaw all morning."

Every cat in AirClan knew about Turtlepaw's blooming relationship with Ashstorm. There were rumors that new kits would be coming the next season, because that was when Turtlepaw and her sister, Dovepaw, would get their warrior names. Halfmoon also knew that Dovepaw didn't appreciate her sister's relationship with her mentor.

Continuing, Turtlepaw meowed. "Maybe he's still sleeping?"

Nodding distractedly, Halfmoon padded over to the warriors den. It was under a hollowed-out bush in the center of the tall trees, and through the leaves she could see a few pelts moving slowly with sleepy breaths. She stuck her muzzle into the enterance, and spotted Antleg's dark brown fur.

Stepping forward to press a silver forepaw into his fur, Halfmoon hissed in the tomcats ear. "Hey! We're going on a hunting patrol."

Groaning, the tomcat uncurled himself. After washing himself quickly do he didn't look like a tousled furball while hunting, he blinked at Halfmoon. "Okay. Let's go!"

* * *

"Is FireClan really planning an attack?" Antleg's amber eyes were wide with fear. He was walking alongside Halfmoon, while Turtlepaw was ahead, stalking prey.

Halfmoon nodded.

His eyes clouded. "Do you think the apprentices are ready?" He watched Turtlepaw's brown and white tail flicking as she trotted forward through the sparse forest of AirClan territory.

"They'll be at the age to be warriors in a moon." She assured her Clanmate. "And tonight I'm traveling to EarthClan to ask for help. Hopefully Robinstar will help us. They've been our allies in the past."

Antleg nodded, though Halfmoon could tell he wasn't completely convinced.

"You'll see." Halfmoon purred, suddenly confident in her Clan's ability to fend off the intruders.


End file.
